Bregenzer Festspiele

The Bregenz Festival is a cultural festival that takes place annually in July and August in the capital of Vorarlberg Bregenz in Austria.

Attraction for a large number of visitors at the world's largest floating stage in particular the game on the lake. The festival is renowned for the beauty of the natural backdrop of Lake Constance, oversized stage design, technical showpiece and a unique acoustic, which is achieved by the technique of the Bregenz directional hearing. Intendant of the Bregenz Festival since December 2003, the British director David Pountney. 2015 Elizabeth Sobotka will replace him as director.

The program of the Bregenz Festival, covered, for example, in 2004 about 80 events that were attended by over 215,000 spectators. The resident orchestra of the Festival, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

History and venues

Lake stage

At the first festival in 1946 were as a play on the lake in Gondelhafen Mozart's " Bastien und Bastienne " and its choreographed as a ballet " Little Night Music " section. After a donation of Karl Deuring the Festival was in 1950 with a 6400 persons which stands the largest floating stage in the world available, which was reduced by 1979 to 4400 conversions first places, according to new extensions and which now holds nearly 7,000 spectators.

As a play on the lake a large production of musical theater was staged annually, initially mostly operettas, musical comedies and light operas, increasingly since the 1970s, the international opera repertoire and musicals. Between 1960 and 1977, the lake stage was also used repeatedly for ballet performances. Since 1985, the performances on the floating stage will be played every two years.

In spring 2008, found on the floating stage also filming the James Bond film Quantum of Solace instead, further ZDF guested during the European Football Championship in 2008 with the EM- studio for daily reporting on the floating stage.

In August 2010, found on the floating stage the world premiere of the film The Breath of Heaven by Reinhold Bilgeri instead. The idea was around 7000 spectators already sold out weeks in advance.

Festspielhaus

On July 17, 1980, built in a structural connection to the lake stage from 1977 to 1980 Bregenz Festspielhaus opened with up to 1765 seats. The Festspielhaus is used during the festival as alternative venue in case of bad weather ( for performances of the game on the lake in scenic reduced form ) as a venue to another opera production and as a performance venue for orchestral concerts.

2009, it was one of the best convention centers determined by the European Association of Event Centres ( EVVC ) Europe its size and got the appropriate award "Best Center 2009".

Theatre on grain market

For theater performances (mostly guest appearances known stages such as the Vienna Burgtheater ), the theater was used on the grain market since the 1950s. In the 1990s, here toured the German Theatre in Berlin with guest performances and actors like Ulrich Mühe or Jörg Gudzuhn.

After a two year hiatus performances take place there since 2003, most recently of rarely performed operetta. 2007 was the drama Dangerous Liaisons from the Theater in der Josefstadt (Vienna) on the game board.

City hall Bregenz

In the Bregenz City Hall orchestral concerts were held.

Werkstattbühne

Since autumn 1997, also is the Werkstattbühne available, is presented in the mainly contemporary music theater and modern drama. Outside of the festival the workshop stage is used for samples of the game on the lake as well as for pop concerts and other events.

Other Venues

As other venues, the Kunsthaus Bregenz and for acting open-air performances of Martin Place in the historic Upper Town Bregenz be used.

Technology

The extension of the platforms also requires various new technical equipment. In addition to the specific amplification technology for the Bregenz directional hearing is also a large number of radio microphones are needed. 2010 came to 30 wireless microphones for use with which they reached the boundaries of the currently feasible because the bandwidths were only previously substantially limited by the authorities.

Productions on the lake stage and at the Festspielhaus

Awards

In 2009, the Bregenz Festival Culture Brand of the Year 2009, grants awarded by the Agency Causales in Berlin.